Is M48 Severn Bridge open today - as strong winds from Storm Herminia lash South Wales forcing closure

The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for rain and strong winds as a new storm hit the UK. The new warning was issued in light of a new low-pressure system – dubbed Storm Herminia by Spanish forecasters.

The storm took hold yesterday (Sunday 26 January) as it moved in from the southwest of England as the previous Storm Eowyn passed. It was announced that the M48 Severn Bridge was closed in both directions between junction 1 Aust and junction 2 Chepstow due to strong winds at 12.54pm.

This caused delays on the Prince of Wales Bride which was the diversion route for the M48 Severn Bridge closure. Initially this caused three-minute delays on the M4 eastbound between the Prince of Wales bridge and junction 22 on the M4 at 1.22pm.

It was announced that there were no other planned closures for the M48 Severn Bridge for roadworks last night. This morning (Monday 27 January), National Highways says the bridge is now open.

On its website, it explains why the bridge has to continuously close. It says: “The road surface on the M48 Severn Bridge is much narrower than a typical motorway, so there is less space for us to carry out maintenance.

“This means that we need to close the Severn Bridge more often than most other motorways. We understand that these closures cause disruption to road users and local communities, and we’re striving to keep the bridges open as often as we can.”